Marcelina (Perez) Vidaure

The 12th of 14 children born to Adolfo and Gregoria Perez, she grew up active in sports, winning MVP of her softball team and also played clarinet in the school band. She graduated from Highland High School in Bakersfield in 1983 and went to school to become a travel and tourism agent so that she could see the world.

She moved to San Diego where she met her future husband, Lee, on February 18, 1990. Through mutual friends that arranged a blind date, they met and were supposed to go out later that evening but he stood her up! Accidentally and due to bad directions (no excuses, dude!), but she gave him a chance to make up for it. As a Navy man, he served on an aircraft carrier and had a scheduled deployment a few short months later. While on deployment, the beginning of Operation Desert Shield started on August 2 and his deployment was extended. Through letter writing and slow mail systems around the world during a crisis, their relationship actually blossomed into a lifelong friendship. Upon his return December 20, 1990, their relationship grew and they married on April 20, 1991.

Throughout the remainder of his 20-year Navy career, she held a variety of jobs, determined to contribute financially to the family's needs and wants. No job she held though was more important than "Mom" to her two handsome sons, Chris (her Boo-Boo Bear) and Lee (her Angel Cakes). Marcie attended games, plays and even coached soccer to be close to her boys.

Her dream of seeing the world came true, as she traveled to Japan, Italy, Malta, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland, and England. She visited the sites in Rome, Naples, Milan, Florence, Pisa, and Venice (her favorite), as well as Dublin, London, Tokyo, and Paris. She spent numerous nights at a campground inside of a volcano, stood on top of Mt. Vesuvius (when she and Chris saw lava flowing under Big Lee and Little Lee), was at the top of the highest German Alp, sipped beer at the top of the Eiffel Tower and visited Mickey Mouse in Tokyo.

When stateside, she still wanted to travel, visit and explore. She walked through Lincoln's tomb, attended Dodgers games in Wrigley Field (go Dodgers!), visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame and walked the hallowed grounds of Gettysburg. Marcie was excited to go to New York City for their 20th anniversary and had 20-seconds of national TV airtime when Meredith Vieira had no time to move after autographing her sign and stood between Marcie and her husband!

This time last year, she was able to visit the Country Music Hall of Fame, Bluebird Café, and again making a sacrifice for her man, they attended the Saints-Titans game in the cold and rain. True to her sports love, she did not cheer at the stadium until she say 49er's jerseys! She was thrilled that her Lakers and Dodgers won their championships this year!

Marcie enjoyed cooking (tamales, anyone?), playing softball, jogging, playing her clarinet and obviously, traveling.

Marcie is missed by her brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, in-laws and many friends. Her legacy continues within her three boys, Big Lee, Chris and Little Lee and her precious grandchildren, Cole and Caylee.

A visitation for Marcelina will be held Monday, December 21, 2020 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Colonial Funeral Home, 625 Kitty Hawk Road, Universal City, TX 78148, followed by a memorial service at 2:00 PM.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.colonialuniversal.com for the Vidaure family. Donations in her honor would be appreciated and to her two favorite causes, St. Jude Children's Hospital and any reputable organization for cancer research.